From July 22 to 24, 2025, a delegation from the Center for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES) at the Institute of International Studies (IIS), Fudan University—comprising Research Professor Sun Degang, Research Fellow Zou Zhiqiang, and Assistant Research Fellow Wang Xiaoyu—participated in the 15th Annual Gulf Research Meeting (GRM) held at the University of Cambridge. The event brought together over 300 experts, scholars, and diplomats from more than 60 countries and regions, alongside representatives from the United Nations and various regional organizations.
The opening ceremony was chaired by Dr. Christian Koch, Director of Research at the Gulf Research Center in Cambridge. Keynote speeches were delivered by Dr. Abdulaziz Sager, Chairman of the Gulf Research Center; H.E. Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council; and HH Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
During the opening ceremony, the Gulf Research Center reviewed its key accomplishments since its establishment 25 years ago and announced the recipients of the “Best Contributor Award” in recognition of outstanding support to the GRM over the past 15 years. Dr. Sun Degang, Director of CMES Fudan, was among the honorees recognized for their exceptional contributions.
This year’s meeting featured 12 parallel workshops covering a broad range of pressing issues, including Gulf regional visions and financial innovation, sustainable tourism and the circular economy, net-zero cities and the green transition, the implications of great power competition in the Asia-Pacific for Gulf states’ economic and political interests, middle powers in the Middle East, and Gulf engagement with the Horn of Africa.
Dr. Sun Degang served as the convener of Workshop 5, titled “The Impact of Great Power Competition in the Asia-Pacific on the Economic and Political Interests of Gulf Countries.” He chaired the sessions and, together with Dr. Zou Zhiqiang and Dr. Wang Xiaoyu, presented their respective research papers and acted as discussants during the forum.
Throughout the conference, members of the Fudan delegation introduced the Center’s academic programs, research achievements, and faculty development initiatives to international colleagues. They also explored opportunities for future collaboration and scholarly exchange in the field of Middle Eastern Studies.
Since its inception in 2010, the Gulf Research Meeting has become one of the world’s most influential academic platforms for Gulf Studies in terms of scale, participation, and academic impact. Dr. Sun Degang has attended the GRM for 13 consecutive years as a workshop convener. He has co-edited multiple conference volumes and special journal issues in collaboration with senior scholars such as Prof. Tim Niblock (former Director of the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter; and Academic Committee Member of the Institute for International and Area Studies, Tsinghua University), and Ambassador Talmiz Ahmad (former Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Oman, and the UAE).
The United Kingdom continues to serve as a major academic hub for Middle Eastern and area studies. Earlier this year, from April 22 to 24, CMES Fudan co-hosted an international academic symposium in Doha in collaboration with four partner institutions, including the Middle East Centre at the University of Oxford. On May 22, a delegation from the Middle East and North Africa Research Group of the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office visited CMES Fudan for academic exchange. These activities reflect the growing ties between Fudan’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies and leading UK-based institutions in the field.
